We had a great dinner at the Second Empire Restaurant on New Year’s Eve. But it was raining when we finished eating so we headed for home. We came downtown on New Year’s Day so I could take a picture of the Acorn that was dropped at midnight, but I couldn’t find it. Here are some random shots I took on NEW YEAR’S DAY DOWNTOWN. The outdoor skating rink has real ice, but they don’t have a Zamboni, so the ice was pretty rough but everyone was having fund skating outdoors in Raleigh, North Carolina. Sir Walter was watching over the skaters in the City of Oaks.

So, I finished the 365 Photos on 365 Themes challenge. It has been a great experience and it has been fun meeting some new online friends from around the world.

I am going to do my own bi-weekly collage challenge. I have a list of themes ready to go. But, my goal for 2010 is to clear the decks and finish up the many projects that I have started through the years.

“Durham was nicknamed the “Bull City” in the late 1800s when the Blackwell Tobacco Company named its product “Bull” Durham Tobacco. By the time James B. Duke of the American Tobacco Company purchased the Blackwell Tobacco Company in 1898, Bull Durham was the most famous trademark in the world.

The “Bull City” prospered as a manufacturing hub for the tobacco industry and textiles for many decades, but has since transformed itself into a place where shopping thrives and high-tech industry flourishes with upscale housing in the same classic buildings where tobacco giants American Tobacco and Liggett-Meyers once made this City their industrial home.
Technology and Medicine

With the birth of the Research Triangle Park (RTP) in the 1950s, Durham began to take on a new look that has evolved into a global center for information technology, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and medicine. The City of Durham is known as the “City of Medicine,” with healthcare as a major industry including more than 300 medical and health-related companies and medical practices with a combined payroll exceeding $1.5 billion annually.

Since its founding in 1924, Duke University has grown into one of the most prestigious private universities in the world and its medical center ranks annually among the top in the nation. The university is the largest employer in Durham, providing jobs for more than 18,000 residents. The City is also home to North Carolina Central University (NCCU), which has recently embarked on an ambitious plan for growth, particularly in the area of biotechnology research. Durham Technical Community College rounds out the community’s post-secondary educational institutions and offers traditional academic and vocational training as well as customized programs to meet changing industry needs.”

This sculpture is located on the corner of Davis Drive and High House Road in Morrisville, NC. It is the logo for a new strip mall. The only store in the plaza so far is a CVS. This piece looks like a KNIGHT chess piece to me.

I used Photoshop Elements to remove the background that was overhead wires and stop lights. Then I added a blue sky background back in. I used Lightroom to remove all of the color except brown.

These old windows look a little NEGLECTED. They are on a vacant store front in Durham, North Carolina. Downtown Durham is making a comeback slowly now that the new DPAC has opened. We are going to see Mama Mia at DPAC at the end of the month. It is a really nice performing arts center next to the Bull Durham’s stadium and the Tobacco Warehouse area.